What Will Happen In Connecticut Amid A Government Shutdown?

October 01, 2013

The federal government shut down as Congress was unable to reach a compromise to fund the government beyond Monday. Examples of services affected — locally and nationally — during a government shutdown:

National Parks, Museums

The National Park Service would close all national parks and wildlife refuges, including the Weir Farm National Historic Site in Wilton and the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, headquartered in Westbrook.

The Smithsonian museums and zoo, as well as the National Mall and Lincoln Memorial, would close.

Armed Forces, Veterans

The military would continue to work, but service members, including almost 13,000 in Connecticut, would get IOUs for paychecks during the shutdown, starting with checks due Oct. 15.

About half of the civilian employees of the Department of Defense – there are more than 2,500 in Connecticut — would likely be furloughed.

The Pentagon would also be forced to stop other payments, including death benefits.

Health care, pension, education and other services for veterans could be curtailed. Veterans in hospitals would still receive care. Connecticut has more than 200,000 veterans.

Federal Workers, Services

About half the government's civilian workforce of 1.2 million people is expected to face furloughs. There are 9,000 civilian federal workers in Connecticut.

Programs like Social Security are considered mandatory spending, although payments could slow down if fewer federal employees are available to handle the work. In 2012, 640,000 people received Social Security benefits in Connecticut.

Government operations not directly paid for by the Treasury, including the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Reserve, would continue.

Applications for U.S. passports and U.S. visa applications could be delayed.

Most of the Internal Revenue Services' 90,000 employees would be furloughed. Taxpayers who requested an extension beyond the April deadline to file their 2012 taxes must do so by Oct. 15, and they will still be able to file these returns even if the IRS is shut down.

Employees or agencies deemed "necessary for safety of life or protection of property" — air traffic control, food inspection, border surveillance — would likely remain on the job.

Airports should continue to operate as normal through any shutdown.

A government shutdown could force some Head Start centers to close as grants expire. In fiscal year 2012, an estimated 7,500 Connecticut children were served by Head Start.

Federal courts could continue to operate for about two weeks with reserve funds. After reserve funds are depleted, only essential employees would continue to work.

Small Business, Housing

The Small Business Administration would stop approving loans. Connecticut has more than 70,000 small businesses.

New loan guarantees for the Federal Housing Authority would not be not processed.

Health, Environment

No new patients would be accepted for clinical research at the National Institutes of Health.

More than half of the Department of Health and Human Services' 78,000 workers would be furloughed.

The government would stop issuing permits to conduct drilling operations on federal lands, and would stop or delay environmental reviews of planned transportation and energy-related projects, keeping companies from working on these projects.